It’s Official: WWDC is Happening June 8th through 12th

It’s been a bit of a forgone conclusion, but Apple made it official: this year’s WWDC takes place June 8th through June 12th at the Moscone center in San Francisco.

Expect plenty of news on iOS 9, the next version of OS X, the official Apple Watch software SDK, and who knows what else. Personally, I think this is finally the year for an Apple TV App Store with games.

On a personal note, I’ll be in San Francisco during WWDC. So if anyone is interested in meeting up, hanging out, and talking about iOS gaming and everything Apple has to announce, then drop me an email.

The AfterPad Horipad Review

Overview

I feel like the Horipad has been given a bit of a bad rap by most iOS gamers¹. Unless you’re either Japanese or a hardcore fighting game fan, you probably don’t know Hori. You probably think they’re just another peripheral maker focusing on undercutting the first party guys with slightly cheaper, slightly crappier gear. You know the stuff – it’s $10 cheaper, made by someone like Nyko or Dreamgear, and always winds up in the hands of whoever’s stuck in the unfortunate position of “Player 2”.

Let’s set the record straight: Hori is not a maker of cheap crap. Hori has a history of making products that are every bit as good as first party products. In some cases, Hori’s designs are argueably superior to the official offerings, both in layout and in build quality.

Hori is also known for making controller designs that you cannot get from any first party manufacturer. They make crazy hybrid designs that mix elements of different controllers (Such as an SNES controller with the Gamecube’s button layout.) They make unique designs focused around solving a specific class of problem for specific games (FPS gamers will be well served by a wired controller with dual analog sticks in the prime positions). And perhaps equally importantly, they resurrect controller designs from previous consoles and upgrade them to run on newer hardware, sometimes from competing companies (Nintendo decided to make a GameCube controller for the WiiU, but Hori beat them to it).

The Horipad for iOS is a little bit of all of these. Start with a really, really well made PS2 controller. Take an upgraded version of the analog sticks from the Xbox 360’s controller and stick them in the secondary positions. Add a high-performance MFi-certified Bluetooth connection and an integrated rechargeable battery. Finish with one of the very best circular d-pads ever made². That’s basically what Hori made here. It’s not the most unique controller, but it’s a hell of a well-made one, and it does an admirable job remixing elements of other controllers into something unique and excellent.

Design

Appearance

If I’ve perhaps spent a bit too long setting the stage for the high quality of this controller, and of Hori’s products in general, it’s because there’s a good reason for it: this controller looks like a cheap toy. Glossy plastic, screw holes, visible seems… this doesn’t even look like it’s playing in the same league as the other MFi controllers. Line them all up and ask a stranger which ones looks the cheapest, they’re going to pick the Horipad every time. Perhaps the Horipad’s visual aesthetic is due to it being a Japanese product geared to an asian audience. I don’t know enough about the cultural differences between Western and Asian gamers, but I do know Hori’s controller is heavily geared towards Asia³.

The entire controller, front and back, is clad in some of the glossiest, most fingerprint-absorbing black plastic the world has ever seen. Seriously, don’t even bother dusting this one; If you so much as glance at the Horipad, it’ll pick up your fingerprints. Breaking up the sea of black plastic lies a silvery, faux-brushed-metal figure eight design surrounding the analog sticks. The black part of the controller contains the worlds “HORIPAD WIRELESS”, and the silver part an inch below it again contains the word “HORI”, and the symbol for bluetooth wireless. The rear of the controller contains multiple other combinations of “HORI” and “wireless”. Apparently someone thought this was such a great name, everyone deserved to be repeatedly reminded of it every time they glanced at the controller.

Let’s not play around here. Visually, the Horipad is way off the mark. The industrial design looks cheap and tacky, and is completely at odds with Apple’s aesthetic. That’s a real shame; beneath the Horipad’s glossy exterior lies a controller that’s built like a tank.

Build Quality

Picking up the Horipad is surprising. In stark contrast to it’s visual aesthetic, the Horipad feels amazingly solid. It’s heavy, but not too heavy. It’s difficult to put into words why this controller feels as good as it does. It may look like a cheap toy, but that first impression melts away after you pick it up; in your hands, the Horipad feels like a premium product.

That same glossy plastic that looks cheap from a distance actually feels great in your hands. I still tend to prefer high-quality matte plastic to glossy, but that’s a matter of personal preference. If you are a fan of the way glossy plastic feels in your hands, the Horipad is one of the finest examples of a glossy surface plastic I’ve ever felt.

The fact of the matter is, very few controllers of any kind feel this well constructed. The SteelSeries Stratus XL does. The Gamevice does. The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 controllers do. That’s pretty much it.

Ergonomics

These days, popular controllers all tend to fit a similar design: large controllers with wide, semi-flat handles, analogs sticks placed in a prime position to be directly under thumbs, and an ergonomic shape that feels designed to rest gently in your hands. This was the design pioneered by the Dreamcast controller, refined by the various Xbox controllers, and now emulated by Nintendo and (to a lesser degree) Sony.

The Horipad is nothing like an Xbox 360 controller. It does not feel ergonomically sculpted to rest inside your hands – in fact, resting it on your hands without gripping it will put it off-balance. It’s handles are small and angled sharply down, such that you’ll find yourself gripping them tightly with your lower fingers. It’s analog sticks are spaced low, requiring you to actively reach for them with your thumbs. To be blunt, it’s not the most comfortable controller in the world.

But superficial comforts only go so far. The real question is: how does the controller feel over long play sessions? Is it painful? Is it hard to use? Does it fall out of your hands and crash onto the floor in an explosion of screws and plastic?

Good news: for such a “retro” feeling controller, the Horipad hold up amazingly well for long play sessions. I beat the entirety of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 with the Horipad over the course of a couple of sittings, and at no point did it feel like I was fighting against the controller. To be honest, it was a more pleasant experience than a long session with the superficially more comfortable Stratus XL; as comfortable as that controller feels, it causes me to get hand cramps after lengthy play sessions.

The Horipad is a great example of how appearances can be deceiving. The Horipad looks cheap and uncomfortable, but it’s a hell of a well-built device, and one you can use for hours on end without experiencing the slightest discomfort.

The Details

Analog Sticks

Think of the analog sticks on the Horipad as the lovechild of a Dualshock 3 and an Xbox 360 controller. Take the best aspects of the 360’s analogs – great shape and concave surface – and put them in home position occupied by the Dualshock’s sticks. It may seem like an odd design decision, but it works!

The Horipad is undeniably a retro-focused controller, so putting the d-pad in the prime, “under the thumb” left position makes sense. At the same time, using the “concave with 4 bumps” stick shape throws a bone to gamers who grew up using the 360 controller, and doesn’t make the Horipad seem quite so foreign.

Best of all, the Horipad has extremely little dead zone. MFi controllers tend to get a more criticism than they deserve regarding their analog dead zones⁴, but those sensitive to dead zones will be overjoyed – the Horipad has lower dead zones than any controller I’ve ever tested, MFi or otherwise.

The ABXY Buttons

The “ABXY” face buttons on the Horipad are just about perfect. They’re large, springy, generously spaced, and comfortably smoothed. After hours upon hours of play, I have nothing but high praise for the Horipad’s buttons. They’ve never stuck, caused discomfort, or caused a single miss-click due to bad button placement.

Gamers more accustomed to mobile control layouts might have to adjust, since the Horipad’s buttons are quite large. Xbox and PlayStation gamers, however, will be right at home – the Horipad takes cues both from the shape and spacing of the PlayStation controller’s buttons and the roundness and size of the Xbox controller’s buttons, and combines them into a perfect middle ground, improving on each in the process.

After using every MFi controller, I can say unequivocally that the Horipad’s ABXY buttons are the best of all available controllers. Only the upcoming Gamevice is in the same ballpark.

The D-Pad

Every word I’ve written up until this moment pales in comparison with what you’re about to read next:

The Horipad has an excellent d-pad.

If you’ve been following MFi controllers at all, you should be hearing, in your head, a chorus of angels singing hallelujah! Because until now, the d-pads on MFi controllers have been utter crap; and that’s the best case scenario. At their worst, they’ve made the entire controller effectively unusable for serious gaming.

So let me type it again, because it feels so good to type: the Horipad has an excellent d-pad. It’s a perfectly sized, sensitive, pleasant-feeling circular d-pad.

If you’re primarily a fan of side-scrolling platformers or retro game emulation, the Horipad should be the only controller you even consider. It’s such a monumentally big difference between the Horipad and the controller with thesecond best d-pad.

Circular d-pads will never be my preference, especially compared with the plus-style d-pads used by Nintendo’s controller and the Xbox One pad or the island-style d-pad buttons used by Sony’s controllers, but beggars can’t be choosers. Apple dictates a circular pad, and Hori gave us a hell of a good circular pad within Apple’s requirements.

Shoulder Buttons

Let’s take the Horipad off the table for one more class of gamer: hardcore FPS players. Unlike every first-party console controller from the past decade, the Horipad does NOT feature triggers. The MFi controller standard doesn’t require them, and while most controller makers have opted to include them on their full-size controllers, Hori has instead chosen to replace them with L2 and R2 buttons. Great news for PS1 fans, less so for shooter fans.

Other Buttons

Rounding things off, the Horipad includes the Apple-standard pause button right in the middle of the controller. It works well enough, and you won’t have to be pressing it anywhere near as often as the other buttons.

The power button is located near the pause button, but is curiously made from cheap feeling, tv-remote-button rubber. If it was any other button, I’d be up in arms about it, but it’s just the power button – it doesn’t have to be “gaming grade”.

Far more troubling is the Bluetooth button. Clumsily integrated as a slim, finger-nail-sized button pressed up against the part of the controller that houses the analog sticks, and clad out of the same tv-remote-button rubber as the power button, the Bluetooth pair button is a black mark against the Horipad.

And while we’re on the subject of Bluetooth pairing, here’s where we get to the biggest problem I’ve experienced with the Horipad. After holding the bluetooth pair button for 10 seconds or so, I found myself stuck in a loop, unable to actually pair the controller with any device. As soon as the iPhone or iPad found the controller and attempted to pair, the controller would reset the pairing and forget the connection. Either I broke the firmware somewhere or I broke the pair button itself, but absolutely nothing I attempted would make the controller work – I ended up returning it (thanks to Amazon’s excellent return policies) and getting a replacement.

So… be careful. That’s the best advice I can give here. Follow the pairing directions carefully, and don’t press too hard on the button. I haven’t experienced any issues with this second controller, and I don’t want to risk it.

The Software

This is the part of the review where I’d normally be discussing controller drivers, software, web support. Sadly, Hori doesn’t have anything to discus. The Horipad has no Hori-sanctioned list of games. The Horipad has no iOS app. The Horipad has no firmware management PC app.

The controller appears to work perfectly on every version of iOS 7 and iOS 8. If that ever fails to be the case – as has happened before – I have absolutely no idea what Hori would do about it. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

The Horipad, on my wall alongside a variety of other controllers

Accessories

The accessories included with the Horipad do a great job of highlighting just what the target audience is for this controller. If you’re an iPhone gamer looking to clip your device into a controller, move right along; there’s nothing to see here. The Horipad doesn’t include any form of integrated device clip. Instead, a small (but surprisingly nice) plastic dock is included with the controller. If you really want to stand your iPhone up on a table and squint over at it while holding the controller in your lap, well, more power to you. For most people, the Horipad should be thought of as an iPad controller. While the stand is perfectly useable with all models of iPhone, it really shines with the iPad Air and iPad Mini.

Also in the box: a short USB cable for charging the integrated controller battery. This is a Mini B type cable; the same kind of cable used by PS3 controllers and old external hard drives, as opposed to the more modern Micro cable most devices use. The cable is decent, but heavy users will probably want to upgrade to something a little nicer.

Battery Life

Unlike the Mad Catz C.T.R.L.i line and the full-size SteelSeries Stratus XL, the Horipad features an integrated battery, rather than relying on AA or AAA batteries. Hori rates the battery life of the Horipad 20 hours, and while this sounds a bit small compared to the competition, I’ve found that the controller lasts a comparable amount of time in actual usage.

I’ll take an integrated battery with a charging cable over external batteries any day. What you lose in the ability to quickly swap out batteries, you gain in the fact that your batteries don’t go dead in the first place since you can just keep the controller charged when you’re not using it.

Conclusion

Most people are going to take one look at the Horipad and dismiss it out of hand. It’s cheap looking, it lacks any way to clip your iPhone into it, it has a high price tag, it uses the less-popular PlayStation-style analog arrangement, it lacks triggers… first impressions aren’t good.

The fact is, these complaints are all valid. But there is still something about the Horipad… the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts.

The Horipad is a controller for a certain type of gamer. It’s for the retro game fan. It’s for the gamer who grew up on PlayStation, Nintendo, or Sega. It’s as far away from an Xbox controller as you can get. If you want to play shooting games, get a controller with triggers. The Horipad is for gamers who want to play Sonic, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Ridge Racer, Monster Hunter… games from before everything turned into a shooter.

After heavily testing every single Bluetooth MFi controller (and reviewing almost all of them), the Horipad is the one I keep coming back to. If you want the best possible controller to play Bioshock, the Horipad isn’t going to be for you. But that’s okay – you have a lot of great options. The Horipad is the first and only good option for retro gamers. And it’s a really, really great option to have.

• Buy Now

Apple Releases iOS 8.3

Apple released a new iOS 8 point release yesterday. Apple Watch support and Photos for Mac integration headline the list of features, so Mac users and potential Watch customers are going to want to download this one.

The thing is, this update does something far more important than it’s release notes imply. It drastically improves performance across-the-board.

Devices powered by the A6 and A5 run vastly better, almost as smooth as they did on iOS 6, especially after turning down various graphical effects. We’re talking a night and day difference here.

Devices powered by the A7 and A8 didn’t suffer as much under previous iOS 8 revisions, but they still benefit noticeably from this update. My iPad Air 2 especially – I’ve been dealing with longstanding crash issues when multitasking, general delays when deleting apps, buggy keyboard input. Since updating, the Air 2 finally feels as powerful as it’s hardware suggests it should be. The iPhone 6 Plus is improved as well, though there are still reports of occasional lag – a consequence of having an underpowered GPU for the display it sports.

A5 devices especially benefit from this update. They were barely acceptable under previous versions of iOS 8, and Apple should have been ashamed of themselves for shipping the in that state. Better late than never on performance improvements.

I know some of you – those with jailbreaks – have one very big question on your minds: Do I upgrade and lose the jailbreak? Hard to say. I have no idea if an 8.3 jailbreak is coming any time soon. All iOS 8 and iOS 7 jailbreaks are using the same basic exploit, and Apple patched it in 8.2. Personally, I upgraded my iPad, but not my iPhone 6. I use my iPad as my work machine, and the performance and stability benefits are just too important. If I primarily used an A5 powered device, I’d upgrade in a heartbeat – even the best jailbreak tweaks aren’t worth dealing with lag over.

I’m still hoping iOS 9’s rumored focus on performance turns out to be true. Still, for now, iOS 8.3 is a big step in the right direction.

Link: ‘Nintendo as a Service’

A good article from Kyle Russell at TechCrunch on Nintendo’s current woes, and some of the big issues with their current strategy.

Last week, Nintendo announced that it was bringing games from the Nintendo 64 and Nintendo DS consoles to the Wii U’s Virtual Console. The first wave of titles included just two games: Super Mario 64 and Yoshi’s Island DS. This limited release seems rather odd, given the fact that the emulation community has been playing games from both consoles on less powerful devices for years.

I did not realize this. I knew Nintendo had serious problems with their online account management (you can only play purchased games on the one device you used to purchase them). I did NOT realize that they’d done such an awful job rereleasing their back catalog.

This is insanity. I understand a reason why accounts could be so messed up (greed). I understand why cross-play functionality doesn’t exist (a combination of greed and lack of cloud service experience). But I have no clue why Nintendo doesn’t sell every single first-party game they can emulate digitally. There is no inventory to manage¹, no boxes to manufacture, no disks to print.

It’s free money. The emulator is already built. People will spend money on games they have fond memories of. Distributing those games costs Nintendo effectively nothing.

New Release: Implosion – Never Lose Hope

After a long wait, Rayark’s highly anticipated action game Implosion is now available on iOS with full MFi controller support!

I haven’t had a chance to play this one yet, but TouchArcade has some impressions up, and everything seems positive.

Also positive: this is a true premium game. No in-app purchases, no adds, no freemium, no timers. I’ll be spending some time with this one tonight, but for now, it looks like a real winner.

• Implosion: Never Lose Hope

Big Sale for Monster Hunter Freedom Unite

Great news for RPG and / or adventure game fans: The classic Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is on sale for $5 off it’s usual price, down to $9.99!

It’s difficult to overstate just how huge this game is. Monster Hunter games are the Japanese equivalent of Call of Duty – people line up to buy these on launch. The success or failure of entire platforms has come down to which ones have Monster Hunter.

It’s also difficult to overstate just how much depth is in Monster Hunter. The number of environments, quests, monsters, and equipment is staggering. There are multiple weapon and item classes, and each class plays completely different to every other. Basically, once you get sucked into Monster Hunter, you won’t have to leave for a long, long time. And that’s before we even get to the multiplayer – the replay value here is close to endless.

This iOS port is an upgraded version of the PSP edition. It also happens to play so much better with an MFi controller. Seriously, if you’re a hardcore Monster Hunter player, you should buy an MFi controller just for this game.

• Download: Monster Hunter Freedom Unite

Review – The Best iPad Keyboards

Contrary to what some people claim, the iPad is not a media consumption device. The iPad is not incapable of doing “real work”. In fact, most of the writing for this site is done directly on my trusty iPad Air 2. I handle all of AfterPad’s HTML, database management, and coding directly from my iPad.

The only thing I need to do these activities is a great keyboard. And I’ll admit, this is one area the iPad falls behind traditional computers. Laptops have decent keyboards built-in and desktops can use any external keyboard under the sun. For iPads, the selection is much more limited, and much less capable. Most keyboards are cheap, poor quality devices, designed more for their portability than for serious typing.

These keyboards don’t interest me. I do real work on my iPad, and I set out to find the very best keyboards to allow me to do real work. The field isn’t as big as you might expect, and I’ve spent the past several month testing keyboards and narrowing down my choices.

I want to start off by laying out a few of my requirements. I’m only interested in keyboards that meet these conditions; there is a whole world of amazing keyboards out t for would have to meet these requirements, or have a very good excuse for not meeting them.

First, the keyboard must have a Mac key layout. No exceptions on this one. I want to use my thumb to activate the Command key, not my pinky. I’m too old to change.

Second, I’m not interested in a keyboard case. Magnetic covers are fine, but not cases. I don’t want to leave my iPad in a case all the time, and I don’t want to fumble with inserting it and removing it from a case whenever I want to use the keyboard. This requirement removes a lot of compelling options. Clamcase, Logitech, and Zagg make some very well reviewed keyboard cases; they just aren’t for me.

Third, I need to be able to use Forward-Delete. I use the forward-delete functionality a lot. Less in my writing, but constantly in managing the game database. If I have to hold FN plus the regular Backspace key, I’ll live. But keyboards without either the FN key or a true forward delete key are out of contention.

Lastly, I want the size to be manageable. No Huge Keyboards. I have no interest in the number keypad, 50 extra gaming macro keys, or a bunch of obsolete keys like numlock and print screen. For external keyboards, the tenkeyless form factor is the absolute largest I’m interested in – something closer to laptop-sized would be even better.

Those requirements limited my field of interest to three different form factors: keyboard covers, laptop-style external bluetooth keyboards, and ultraportable mechanical keyboards.

The Best iPad Keyboard Covers

First off, I decided to try my chances with a keyboard cover. Unlike a full keyboard case, covers clip on magnetically, and are thus easy to remove when not in use. They’re extremely convenient, as they connect over Bluetooth and can be transported directly alongside the iPad.

Even with the larger iPads, keyboard cases can’t provide a key layout as large as a laptop’s, so provide an inferior typing experience to a full-size external keyboard. Still, the extreme portability and integrated iPad stand provide benefits of their own, which aren’t matched by external keyboards. If you can make due with the inferior typing experience compared with an external keyboard, cover-style keyboards have a lot going for them.

Finding the best cover style keyboard wasn’t difficult. Once you get rid of the low quality Chinese keyboards that make up the bulk of the Amazon results, are only two options worth considering, both of them by Logitech.

The Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad Air 2

The obvious starting place was Logitech’s “latest and greatest” keyboard cover: the brand new Ultrathin 2 for iPad Air 2. This is the latest in a long, long line of Logitech keyboard covers, stretching all the way back to the first iPad. Somewhere midway through the life cycle of the first iPad Air, Logitech released a major redesign of their Ultrathin Keyboard Cover. This redesign features larger keys, a thinner case, better function keys, adjustable docking angle, and a magnet to sleep the iPad when closed, just like Apple’s Smart Covers.

Theres only one problem: this redesign is worse than it’s predecessor in virtually every way.

The keys on the Ultrathin 2 may be bigger, but they occupy the exact same footprint as it’s predecessor, meaning you aren’t gaining any finger real estate. The “thinner case” simply results in shallower key travel, making for a less pleasant typing experience, without any meaningful gain in portability. The keys aren’t just cramped, they’re also wobbly, which stands in sharp contrast to the stability of it’s predecessor. The adjustable docking angle is a nice idea, but it only adjusts backwards, while the angle is already is too far back as it is.

All of those are unfortunate downgrades, but they pale in comparison to the real deal killer: the keyboard’s hinge. The main benefit of a keyboard cover is it can be quickly clipped on and off. Not so with this keyboard cover. This hinge is designed such that it only opens up to a short, 30-degree angle, requiring you to carefully remove your iPad at a tight angle without scratching the screen against the keys. Absolutely terrible design.

All of these “upgrades” come at a price ranging from $80-$100. Ridiculous. Logitech has a track record of releasing redesigned versions of their products that are significant downgrades on previously-killer products – this keyboard cover is the most egregious example yet.

If, for some reason, you can’t find a better keyboard cover than this, it’s available now for $89 in both space gray and silver aluminum models.

The Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad Air (First Version)

The good news is, not only can you still get the original Ultrathin Keyboard Cover, but you can get it at significant discounts, since it’s “obsolete”.

What you get with this obsolete hardware is amazing quality (for their size) keys, great built quality, a strong hinge that actually functions correctly, and a long lasting battery. Seriously, it’s like a night-and-day difference. These keys are springy, spacious, and pleasant feeling. None of the shallowness or wobble of the later model.

There are only two downsides to this keyboard. One: the iPad Air 2 rests back at a steeper angle than I’d like. Two: the iPad doesn’t automatically lock when you close the cover. That’s it. Everything else is better than any other keyboard cover I’ve used in every way. Those are unfortunate.

I managed to purchase this keyboard for about $35 on Amazon. It’s currently sold out, but is restocked occasionally. You can also find it being clearanced out at office supply stores and big-box electronic retailers; if you’re looking for a killer keyboard case for an iPad Air or iPad Air 2, finding one of these on sale will likely be both the cheapest and best option available.

You can find the Ultrathin Keyboard Cover in both space gray and silver aluminum models.

Slim External Keyboards

As great as the Ultrathin Keyboard Cover is, after using it for about a month, I concluded that it wasn’t for me. I do almost all of my writing on the iPad, and I just don’t want to deal with the trade-offs associated with a small keyboard size. Maybe once an 12-inch iPad comes out, I’ll reconsider this, but a 10-inch keyboard just doesn’t cut it for me when it comes to long-form writing and database management.

The good news is, I don’t particularly mind bringing an external keyboard with me, if it makes for a superior typing experience. I carry my iPad and accessories in a messenger bag, and there’s plenty of room in there for a small keyboard.

After thoroughly testing all the major models from the big brands, I managed to narrow down my selection to the few contenders most people will want to consider.

The Apple Bluetooth Keyboard

The obvious starting point is Apple’s own Bluetooth keyboard. This keyboard is built with the usual Apple build quality – one solid piece of aluminum, keys with perfect feeling plastic, and brilliant little design aesthetics all around (especially the battery compartment!). I like Apple’s keyboard layout – it works well enough with the Macbooks – so something like that on iOS would be a great starting point.

Unfortunately, Apple did a pretty terrible job with optimizing this keyboard for iOS.

Don’t get me wrong; the build quality is great, the keys are pleasant feeling scissor-style designs, and the battery life is good. It’s a fine keyboard. It just isn’t designed in any way for iOS. No home button, no search functionality, no multitasking switch. Instead you get a bunch of superfluous Mac commands for Dashboard and Mission control.

Worst of all, I experienced occasional Bluetooth stutters. I’d be typing away, and a letter or two might get occasionally dropped, or the shift key might be held a little too long in software. This might be related to the relatively ancient version of Bluetooth used by this keyboard, which hasn’t been meaningfully updated since 2011. Whatever the reason, it isn’t good.

If you already have an old Apple Bluetooth keyboard lying around, you might as well give it a shot with the iPad, see if it works for you. For anyone else, don’t bother. For the $70 or so Apple is asking for this keyboard, you should expect a lot more. Rumor has it Apple is planning on upgrading it soon. From my experience with the current version, this upgrade can’t come soon enough.

The Logitech Easy Switch Keyboard

After my disappointment with Apple’s keyboard, I tested a variety of Logitech’s tablet offerings, eventually concluding that the Logitech Easy Switch was by far the best of the lot. This is not an original conclusion – the Easy Switch is a very highly reviewed keyboard.

In contrast to Apple’s bare-bones bluetooth keyboard, Logitech throws everything in to this but the kitchen sink. Aluminum construction, fully backlit keys, media and home key options, and different Mac and Windows layout versions all headline the feature list. But the most important function, the one that gives this keyboard it’s name, is the multi-device switching capability. The Easy Switch features three dedicated device keys in the top left, and can simultaneously pair with up to three different devices. Switching between your PC and your iPad is as simple as hitting a key.

All of those features are great, but they’re nothing compared to the Easy Switch’s best aspect: it’s a hell of a good keyboard. They keys are perfectly sized, made of a high-quality-feeling plastic, generously spaced, and perfectly springy. Honestly, these might be the best scissor-style keys I’ve ever used. It’s not easy to beat Apple when it comes to this stuff, but Logitech raised the bar here.

The Easy Switch keyboard manages to cram all of it’s features into a very small, portable package. While not as portable as a keyboard cover or case, this external keyboard does not waste space. The fact that it sports a laundry list of great features and is significantly thinner than Apple’s keyboard highlights just how much Apple needs to update their offering.

Honestly, after testing all of these keyboards, the Easy Switch is probably the one I’d recommend to most people. It’s not as portable as a keyboard cover, but it’s not as bulky as a bigger mechanical keyboard – a perfect middle zone. It’s available in both Mac and PC layouts for a list price of $100, though I managed to get mine for $40 at Office Max – deal hunt on this one.

Other Options

Although the Logitech Easy Switch is ultimately my pick in portable keyboard design, I spent some time testing a variety of other keyboards, the more interesting of which I’ll discuss below.

Microsoft makes a pretty good iOS keyboard called the Universal Mobile Keyboard. It has a great design, solid build quality, and springy keys. Unfortunately, it isn’t significantly larger than a keyboard cover. Seriously, it’s just as cramped as the Ultrathin keyboard cover, but without any reason – nothing restricts it to being the same size as an iPad! If Microsoft is targeting people who are already committed to bringing an external keyboard, I’m not sure why they felt the need to make it so small. It doesn’t really make any sense to combine the size disadvantage of a keyboard case with the inconvenience of an external keyboard. I don’t understand who this product is for, but if you think it’s for you, it’s available in both white and black models for about $65.

Logitech had one more potentially interesting keyboard: the Logitech K480 Bluetooth Multi-Device keyboard. Superficially, this keyboard appears to have the same excellent keycaps from the Easy Switch, but in a much cheaper package, while also integrating a stand to hold your iPad and iPhone. Sounds great to me! Sadly, these are not the same keys used by the Easy Switch. These are wobbly, cheap, plasticky keys. A missed opportunity here – I wouldn’t want to type on these for an extended length of time. They look the same, but the feel is all wrong. Still, if you REALLY need an integrated stand, this is about your only option, and it’s worth a look. It comes in black and white versions, and is available for about $49.

I also broke my oath the never use another Belkin product and spent some time with their Secure Wired keyboard. This keyboard is unique in that it attaches to the iPad via Lightning. This appeals to me in theory – bluetooth can be finicky. Sadly, like basically ever Belkin product, the build quality is terrible. Wobbly keys, tiny arrow keys (even though they’re off-set with enough room to be full size!), and zero forward-delete functionality. This feels like a $15 keyboard you’d see a school outfit their classrooms with, but it actually retails for $60. If you absolutely MUST have a wired keyboard for security reasons, this is the best one available. But don’t take that as a recommendation – it isn’t.

Mechanical Keyboards

If you really want to fall down the rabbit hole into insanity, you have to enter the world of mechanical keyboards.

Mechanical keyboards – sometimes known as Clicky keyboards, Gaming keyboards, or Hipster keyboards [citation needed] – include elaborate mechanisms embedded underneath the keys themselves in order to provide a more tactile typing response. Sometimes this response is augmented by an audible “clicking” noise, either from people bottoming-out the keys or from additional clicking elements embedded in the keys themselves.

These are different from the crappy keyboards that dominated PC lineups from the late ‘90s through late 2000s – those are known as Membrane keyboards. The keys themselves have the same external shape as mechanical keyboards, but the actual typing experience is generally unpleasant, with a sort of soft, mushy feel. I’d take laptop-style scissor keys over membrane keys any day – not so with mechanical keys.

If all of this sounds confusing, that’s because it is. The world of mechanical keyboards is reminiscent to the world of audiophile music listening. There are real, tangible benefits to investing some time into both. There are also people who are happy to sell you snake-oil-flavored placebos for outrageous prices. But while the world of audiophile music has at least some objective facts on it’s side (although many choose to ignore them), keyboards are almost entirely a matter of personal preference. These preferences are primarily embodied in the type of mechanism inside the keys, which is known as the key switch.

I didn’t expect to have much difficulty finding an iPad-compatible mechanical keyboard. I was expecting that I’d be able to plug any old mac-compatible mechanical keyboard into the iPad via the Lightning to USB adapter and start typing away without issue. I was wrong.

My first problem was actually finding a mac-compatible mechanical keyboard that wasn’t huge and covered with extraneous keys. I had assumed this would be the easy part, but the vast majority of mechanical keyboards these days are focused around gaming, which is an area in which the Mac still lags behind Windows PCs. Gaming keyboard companies like Razer rarely make Mac-layout keyboards, and when they do, it’s only for the most expensive (and therefore buliest) models. The size of these makes them a non-starter for me, as I want to be able to carry the keyboard with me in a messenger bag or laptop case. Specialist keyboard companies make Mac-optimized mechanical keyboards, but these are very expensive, and still aren’t specifically designed for the iPad. If I’m going to spend between $100 and $200 on a keyboard, I’m not going to tolerate a hacked-together solution.

I was eventually able to settle on one reasonably priced, Mac-compatible mechanical keyboard. While it certainly isn’t the fanciest mechanical keyboard on the market, it would allow me to test exactly how well the USB-to-Camera-Connection-Kit method would function in the real work.

The Rapoo V500 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

I’d never heard of Rapoo before, but their V500 keyboard covered all the bases. It is mechanical, relatively compact, and fully programmable. Best of all, at $59, it significantly undercuts every other Mac mechanical keyboard, and pretty much any mechanical keyboard.

Now to be clear, this keyboard doesn’t technically have a Mac compatible layout. It is, however, fully programmable. Meaning if you plug it into a Windows PC and install the drivers, you can completely customize the key layout. Importantly, these layout changes are saved directly to the keyboard’s firmware, meaning you don’t have to keep the drivers installed – critical, since the iPad obviously doesn’t have drivers. Anyways, after setting up the keyboard and spending some time with it, I have good news and bad news.

The bad news: It doesn’t work with the iPad using the Lightning to USB Adapter. It simply draws more power than that adapter is capable of providing. You can still use it with the iPad, but you’ll first need to plug the keyboard into a powered USB hub, and then plug that hub into the Lightning to USB cable. Obviously not ideal for something that’s supposed to be portable.

After jumping through those hoops, the iPad will pop up with an error message about the Rapoo keyboard being incompatibe. If you dismiss that message, however, they keyboard will work perfectly fine. All compatible function keys work perfectly, and there is zero lag anywhere. If I were setting up a stationary writing space, and didn’t mind the USB hub requirement, I’d be very happy with this keyboard.

The V500 is a mechanical keyboard with linear switches. Linear switches are different than the usual tactile switches found in mechanical keyboards. In effect, these switches don’t have the “bump” or “click” feedback many typists are used to. Instead, the keys go down silky-smooth, activate about half-way down, and only make a noise if they key itself touches the base of the keyboard. Experienced mechanical keyboard touch-typists will probably never bottom out they keys, resulting in an incredibly smooth, whisper-quiet typing experience.

The good news: If you’re a fan of linear mechanical switches, the Rapoo V500 is a killer bargain. The keys feel outstanding, the fully-programable nature of the keyboard makes it perfect for both gamers and Mac users, and the price is pretty much impossible to beat. This isn’t a viable keyboard for iPad users, but for computer users, this is an amazing find. At about $64.99 in both black and white, this is an EASY recommendation for PC gamers or Mac typists. Just not for the iPad.

The Rapoo KX

I was so impressed with the typing experience of the Rapoo V500, I decided to give another one of their keyboards a chance. The KX keyboard had potential; it uses the exact same yellow linear key switches as the V500, but features a fully wireless connection instead. Not bluetooth, sadly – it requires a small RF transmitter be plugged in via USB. However, the keyboard itself draws power from an integrated battery, rather than from USB. Meaning all the iPad’s Lightning to USB adapter would need to power is the tiny RF transmitter. Worth a shot, right?

I really, really wanted this to work. The build quality of the KX is outstanding, with the face plate constructed out of a solid piece of brushed stainless steel. The keys have flatter, more laptop-style surfaces, but feature the exact same switches as the V500, and are just as pleasant to type on. And unlike the V500, they’re fully backlit. The function keys are a strange, touch-sensitive design, but the keyboard provides haptic feedback via an integrated vibration motor when you touch them – an odd design decision, but it works, since F keys are rarely used.

Sadly, it just doesn’t work with the iPad. The RF transmitter simply requires too much power for the Camera Connection Kit. That would itself be a deal killer for me, but there’s another problem. Unlike the Rapoo V500, the Rapoo KX is not fully programmable. Only the virtual F-keys can be programmed. This means there’s no way to switch the Windows and Alt keys to the Mac layout.

To be honest, if everything else about this keyboard worked with the iPad, I’d be willing to overlook the backwards key mapping. It’s that good. $80 seems like a lot for a keyboard, but in this case it’s an absolute steal. Finding a backlit, wireless, mechanical, metal keyboard for $80 is virtually unheard of. The KX isn’t the keyboard for my needs, but there is a very good chance this is a dream keyboard for anyone trying to set up a gaming PC in the living room or find a perfect keyboard to connect to the Microsoft Surface tablet. If that applies to you, the Rapoo KX is available for about $83 in both white and black. If Rapoo ever makes a bluetooth, Mac version of this keyboard, I’ll buy it immediately.

The Matias Laptop Pro Keyboard

At this point, the list of Mac-compatible small mechanical keyboards was rapidly dwindling. I wasn’t willing to spend a bunch of money ordering a custom Mac keyboard from a boutique manufacturer with the hope that it would work with the Camera Connection Kit. Luckily, there was one option left for a small, bluetooth Mac keyboard. Literally one single option. Enter the Matias Laptop Pro keyboard.

The Laptop Pro keyboard seems to fit the bill perfectly. It’s a fully bluetooth keyboard with a Mac key layout. It uses high-quality mechanical switches. Best of all, it is specifically advertised as being compatible with iPad – no Camera Connection Kit required!

There’s one big downside: at $159, the Laptop Pro keyboard is literally twice the price of any other keyboard on this list. It’s an undeniably a high price to pay for a keyboard, but believe it or not, $160 is not an insane price for a mechanical keyboard. Mechanical gaming keyboards regularly costs above $100, and boutique keyboards like this regularly pass the $150 or $200 mark. Which, by the way, should reinforce just what a great deal those Rapoo keyboards were. Anyways, after coming this far, I wasn’t finishing this review without trying the one keyboard that seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

I’m happy to report that the Matias Laptop Pro is exactly what I was hoping it would be. After a quick, painless Bluetooth pairing, the keyboard started working immediately on the iPad – no warning messages, no wonky adapters. Compatible function keys work perfectly, the dedicated forward-delete key works as it should… I can’t really ask for much more. It’s a little unfortunate that there is no dedicated iOS home button / search / virtual keyboard functionality, but it’s not a deal killer.

Visually, I’ll be blunt: this keyboard is a bit of a mess. Everything about it looks cheap, from the plastic painted to look like metal to the grainy looking keys with too much lettering on them. A highly visible seem runs along the sides of the keyboard where the pieces of plastic connect. For an Apple inspired product, Matias makes some aesthetically horrendous design decisions. Nothing about this looks like $160.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Looks are nice, but functionality is why you’d get a mechanical keyboard. The typing experience of the Matias Laptop Pro is perhaps it’s most interesting aspect, and it puts this keyboard in a relatively unique position. Rather than using the ubiquitous Cherry switches (and Cherry-style) switches common to PC gaming keyboards and clicky keyboards (including the Rapoo products mentioned above), the Matias Laptop Pro uses a completely different switch with a completely different feel.

These switches are based on switches from Alps, a defunct switch maker responsible for the switches used in Apple’s excellent ‘90s keyboards, among many others. These switches are mechanically very different from Cherry-style switches. Without getting into too much detail, the “feel” of the tactile bump Alps switches provide is more accurate to where they key press is actually registered. At the same time, the keys themselves have a bit more of a wobble to them compared to Cherry switches. These particular keys are of the “quiet” variety. The term “quiet” should be interpreted loosely – while these keys lack additional noise-making components, the very nature of big mechanical keys means this is by far the loudest keyboard in this article. If you type with a lot of force in a crowded setting, you’re going to find yourself getting sideways glances from people nearby.

I have a lot of experience with these switches. I’ve been a Mac user all through the ’90s, and I still have a classic Alps-powered Apple Extended keyboard. Having these keys on the iPad is like a breath of fresh air. It really is that much better than scissor-keys. I’m still not sure where I stand on the Alps vs Cherry debate, but considering this Alps keyboard is the only option for Mac-format bluetooth keyboards, I’m satisfied with this one.

Other Options

As covered above, there aren’t a lot of options when it comes to mechanical keyboards on iOS. If you aren’t looking for a portable keyboard, any gaming keyboard should work, as long as you don’t mind connecting to a powered USB hub via the Camera Connection Kit.

If you are looking for a portable keyboard, but don’t care about having Mac-format keys, Japanese manufacturer Filco makes some interesting products. Unlike Matias, these bluetooth keyboards use Cherry switches, and come in a variety of different styles with varying key noise and tactility. The PC layout makes these a non-starter for me, but Windows users might want to give them a look; they’re tempting.

Conclusion

Before ending this review, I’d like to reiterate one more time: for most people out there, the $20 Amazon Basics keyboard is perfectly fine. Heck, for extremely casual use, the touch screen on the iPad gets the job done. But those aren’t the best options. The best options were what I set out to discover, and I wound up with THREE great choices in three different styles.

The Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover is the best keyboard cover I’ve ever used. The build quality is outstanding and the keys are springy and responsive. The only downside: it’s been replaced with a far, far crappier model. This means finding the Ultrathin Keyboard Cover might be difficult. Still, it also means blowout clearance prices. I got mine for $35 on Amazon – 1/3 the price the replacement model goes for.

If you find the keyboard form-factor too small, but are still looking for something ultra portable, the Logitech Easy Switch is the best by far. Unbelievably great build quality with an aluminum face plate, extremely responsive keys with full backlighting, and three-device pairing with quick switching. These keyboards generally go for $99, but you can probably find one cheaper if you look hard enough – mine was $40 at Office Max.

When it comes to mechanical keyboards, there’s really only one option that works well with the iPad: the Matias Laptop Pro. It may be ugly, but it feels amazing. Using a mechanical keyboard is an entirely different experience from using anything else. If that’s the experience you desire, the Matias Laptop Pro is worth every penny of it’s $159 price tag.

Link: ‘DuckTales Remastered Review’

Another great Shaun Musgrave review on TouchArcade, this time for the newly released, MFi controller compatible, Ducktales.

It’s a classic platformer, and it works great with controllers. Give the review a look, then give this game a download – the price might be on the high side, but the game is a classic.

• Download: Ducktales Remastered

Link: ‘Onlive Shuts Down’

This is sad news. Onlive had big plans for iOS – I’d hinted at part of it before. Never going to happen now.

If you want to run high-end PC games on iOS, it seems like your only option in the near future is going to be building your own PC and running your own streaming service with MFi / iOS support.

Link: ‘Nintendo’s 1-Up’

M.G. Siegler lays out the case that Nintendo’s recent foray into the world of mobile gaming amounts to little more than a band-aid over more serious problems.

I am, perhaps, a bit less jaded in my own estimations. As the truly amazing sales of the PS4 (and to a lesser degree the Xbox One) demonstrate, the world still has a place for “real” gaming. If Nintendo manages to release a console that isn’t terrible and gimmicky, they won’t be in any danger of going out of business any time soon.

Which isn’t to say they don’t have a problem in mobile. It’s hard to imagine whatever successor they have planned to the 3DS will achieve anywhere near the sales of it’s predecessors – mobile phones have consumed much of that market. But Nintendo isn’t stupid, and they can react to this trend. The same type of thinking that lead to the undeniably creative Nintendo DS hardware can lead to successful mobile gaming. This is their first, tentative step in this direction.

Money doesn’t lie. When Nintendo sees the money they’re raking in from the crappy freemium drivel DeNa sells, they’ll realize just how huge the opportunity is for real Nintendo games on iOS.